DNAnimal
by Leikaru
Summary: Previously: When One Alters what is. Simple mission, infiltrate and destroy right? What if the info was wrong, what if a pilot was captured and something irreversible done? 1x5 3x4 eventual 1x2x5
1. Chapter 1

Leikaru: Wow! My first Gundam Wing fanfic!!

Vulpus: Now if you'll just update that other story in the YYH section you're all set...

Leikaru: -thwacks muse on head- maybe if you'd help, I would!

Vulus: -glares at Leikaru- Well, people, here is the disclaimer.

Laikaru does NOT own any of the Gundam Wing characters or the original story. This version with the characters however, is hers.

Leikaru: Thank you Vulpus! -glares at the lawyers outside her window- You can go home now. -is holding a rather large katana- Now then! One with the story!!

* * *

Duo hadn't liked the sound of this mission from the beginning. Of course, he hadn't let the others in on his uneasiness, and had merely laughed it off in front of them. Unfortunately he was now wishing he had insisted he had gotten the others to just destroy the base with the gundams instead of going in to bomb the base.

Of course they'd gotten in without a hitch, but what they found had been far from what they'd been told to expect. They'd expected a weapons manufacturing base. They'd discovered a genetic altering one instead.

And now the jester of the group, Duo Maxwell, Shinigami, sat in a holding cell awaiting his fate. Lucky him the guards hadn't found his communications device. At least not yet.

"02, do you copy?" the familiar nasally voice of Heero Yuy came directly into his ear. "I repeat. 02 do you copy?"

"Loud and clear 01" he had curled himself up into a little ball so that it would much harder for the guards to see or hear him speak to his comrades of war.

"Status report." Duo chuckled lightly at his Japanese friends demand.

"Status? Currently in one of the holding cells waiting to be taken in for either questioning or experimentation, or at least that's what I gather from the snippets of conversation from the guards." Indeed, that was exactly what he had heard the guards mumbling about.

"Oh Duo!" Quatre's clear voice rang through the link. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! If I'd only been more careful, you wouldn't be in this horrid mess!" Guards had spotted Quatre while he and Duo had been getting ready to set one of the bombs they had brought in to destroy the base. Duo had made the blonde Arabian escape whilst he led the guards on a chase, which ultimately lead to his own capture, and the successful escape of his friend.

"Eh… s'ok Q-man. No big deal… I think…" Duo couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling that questioning wasn't the only thing the Oz bastards had planned ahead for him. He heard someone snort to his reply to Quatre.

"This is no time to be making jokes Maxwell. The predicament you are in is not funny in the least." Duo chuckled lightly at his friend's indignant remark. So it _had_ been Wufei. Surprise surprise there…

"Actually Wuffles, I do believe that I was being dead serious for once." For a moment, Duo thought that the Chinese pilot was going to go into a fit about how his name was _not _Wuffles, and that it was Wufei. But instead, all he got was a sigh.

"Just be careful Maxwell…" for a moment, the violet eyed pilot went into shock, but the sound of guards approaching quickly snapped him out of it. He quickly and quietly whispered to the others.

"Thanks Wufei." He paused for a moment before continuing so that Wufei would know that he was serious about thanking him, before continuing to relay the fact of the incoming captors. " Guards are coming now." At his statement, all noise on the other end immediately ceased to exist, but Deathscythe's pilot knew they were still there.

An escort of ten guards entered the cell just seconds after the connection was cut. They were all grimfaced, and almost looked regretful that he was in there, and what they were going to do to him.

"You are to be brought to the labs. Any escape attempts will be halted immediately and painfully." A small, grim, smirk found it's way to Duo's face as he was forced to his feet and led away from his cell.

0101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101

Heero had cut off their end of the communicator's link, but they were still able to hear what was going on at Duo's end, without the guards ever being able to hear them or find the device, allowing them to monitor the braided pilot, and ensure that he was still alive. But the fact that the Oz soldiers were bringing their American friend to the lab for experimentation was almost too much.

Quatre was almost in tears, and was clutching at Trowa as if he was his only lifeline, and Trowa in turn had a tight grip on his tiny lover and distressed look upon his normally impassive face. Heero's own lover, Wufei, stood in front of the radio, abnormally pale with his clenched so painfully tight that the knuckles on his hands were white. His onyx eyes were shaded by his hair, which had come undone from its usual low ponytail during their escape. Heero himself sat beside the radio, not three feet from Wufei, and was positive that the floor was wilting under the glare that he currently had directed at the floor, having nothing else to direct it at. Quatre's light voice, laden with sorrow, broke through the silence with a slight tremble.

"This is all my fault!" His tight grip on Trowa escalated as he sobbed. "If only I'd checked before venturing into the blasted hallway!" Heero glanced towards Quatre.

" No. He'd not want you to blame yourself Quatre." But it was Wufei who spoke next. The fact that he used Quatre's first name instead of last, caught the blonde by surprise, effectively quieting him as the Chinese youth had planned.

Dead silence once more fell over the group as they listened to the footfalls of Duo and his captors, as they trudged towards the lab. And after mere moments, the continuous tap of feet stopped.

0202020202020202020202020202020202020202020202

Duo looked wearily at the door that the guards had brought him to. He thought of trying to make a run for it, but on the other hand, he had no wish to die just yet, seeing as he still hadn't kissed either Wufei or Heero, despite the fact that the two Asians were an item, and that he had a slim chance in hell to even _hope _that he would ever get the chance to have a real relationship with the two beauties. Duo smirked wearily on the inside. It was times like this that he really didn't need such thoughts, as he was probably awaiting his damnation. Then the lab door opened, cutting into his thoughts.

"Ah. I see our new test subject has arrived." The man that stepped out into the hall way was, at the oldest, forty-five. He was tall and handsome, but shivers crawled warningly up Duo's spine, as he looked the man over. The scientists voice was slick and smooth, and did absolutely nothing to quell someone's fears. If anything, it only heightened them, though it might also have something to do with what he was saying. "This is a fine specimen." Glaring at the scientist, Duo was tempted to take a swing at the vile beast before him. " To which Gundam pilot do I bestow this operation to?"

"We have reason to believe that he is the Gundam pilot 01." At this statement, Duo had no choice but to laugh out right in their faces. All those present fixated him with a glare.

"You got the wrong pilot, sorry buddy." There was a maniacal gleam in his voice as he spoke, and just because he was who he was, he mocked them. " Shinigami laughs at your utter stupidity. You thought that you could ensnare pilot 01? Fat chance you ugly bastards." The scientist looked at Duo with something akin to hate, but that quickly turned into malicious amusement.

"Ah, then you are pilot 02, judging by your reference of… 'Shinigami'." Violet eyes narrowed as he scowled at the man. " I doubt you'll recognize me, but that hair and those distinctive eyes are a dead give away." The captured pilot looked confusedly at the scientist. He had a feeling that the man was talking about something far from the present date, and that it came from before Duo was a pilot.

" Colony L2, forces that are resisting Oz, lie hidden within a small run down church. In order to save the Father and Sister of the church, a young orphan boy commandeers a mobile suit. Only to return and find his home in shambles because of a bomb dropped upon the 'holy' place. Poor poor bastard orphan." The vile man's words seem to stir something within Duo, as he started to tremble. " His church was destroyed, and thus his attempts to save the only people he considers family, are dead. No one to look after the little street rat." The creature that stood before Duo looked straight at the trembling teen, pausing a mere moment before continuing. " It was I, who gave the order to decimate the Maxwell Church. _I _am responsible for the Maxwell Church massacre. Though I never expected the _only_ survivor to still be alive." A malevolent sneer was perched upon the mans lips as he looked at the boy before him that trembled and hid his face from view by way of his bangs. Then the scientist turned pale as he realized why the pilot was trembling. Duo snapped.

"Eh heh heh…" the low lilting chuckle sent all listening into a state of slightly fear, so maniacal was the sound. " Do you know…? How long I've looked for you?" the voice that sounded was that of a chaotically insane man that had been waiting for many years for his moment. " Do you know?! You _FUCKING BASTARD?!!!_" Lunging at the man, Duo aimed to kill, despite the fact that he was cuffed and surrounded be armed guards.

The first hit he took knocked the COM link out of its hiding place and onto the cold whit floors of the base. The guards stared in shock for only a moment, before being spurred into action.

"Dammit! The little bastard had a communications device the entire time!" Duo had to think quickly before the soldiers grabbed the device.

"Sorry guys!" and with that, he stomped on the fragile device, effectively cutting off full communication with the other pilots, and any chance that Oz might have to use it as a tracer, leading them straight to the others.

Seconds later, Duo Maxwell, pilot of Deathscythe, and Shinigami, lay unconscious on the floor, surrounded by leering men in uniforms.

0303030303030303030303030303030303030303030303

"Sorry guys!" rang throughout the room before the cackle of the device breaking, and finally only static, as they lost their one and only link to the braided American.

All four occupants stared in utter shock at the radio that sat perched upon the only table within the immediate vicinity. The pilot of Sandrock, Quatre, spoke first.

"The Maxwell Church Massacre…" the next to speak was Wufei.

"They did report that only one survivor had survived… I remember that from when I lived on L5. The elders insisted that we know of this injustice…" he paused before continuing. " I just never thought that the survivor would still be alive, and one of the gundam pilots no less…" Shenlong's pilot sunk to his knees, and Heero came to kneel beside him.

"I thought that Duo had grown up with a family… You know, the standard… with a loving mother, a caring father, and maybe a couple of siblings…" Quatre just sat in his stricken state as he spoke. " I never even _dreamed_ that Duo had been orphaned so young… maybe sometime just a little before he was picked up by G… but not an orphan his entire life…"

"Indeed, even I presumed that. I never once thought that maybe he was an orphan… let alone _the_ Maxwell Massacre survivor…" This time it was Trowa who spoke. Heero could only look away.

" I took the liberty of looking into everyone's pasts… call me paranoid, but I did…" Quatre, Trowa, and even Wufei looked to the Japanese pilot.

"So you knew? You knew who Duo was?" Heero shook his head and the others looked at him in surprise.

"There… were no records what so ever, of a Duo Maxwell ever even existing. I'm guessing he took a first name while on the streets, and his last from the Maxwell Church." Heero clenched his fists. " It could also just be the poor system of L2 though… but that I highly doubt…" He looked at the radio. " I found information on everyone, save for Duo."

Wufei looked as his lover, and then back to the radio.

"Regardless. We must retrieve him." Wufei's tone softened for what he said next. " He is a Comrade… No. Duo is our friend, and we must recover him from that base."

The other three pilots all nodded simultaneously and proceeded to come up with a plan to successfully retrieve the fallen Shinigami from Oz's clutches.

0404040404040404040404040404040404040404040404

Voices, pain, light, and darkness. In an endless circle, these were the only things that Duo knew. He had no clue as to what time it was, or how long he had been there as a captive. Had it been weeks? Months? Maybe even only hours. They all blended together, and the captive boy could do nothing to stop his tormentors from continuing. Finally, all he knew was blissful darkness.

0505050505050505050505050505050505050505050505

When Duo awoke, all he was aware of was the darkness. Of course, the pain was still there, but not half as excruciating as it had been previously, and the voices had totally disappeared, much to the boy's relief. The only sounds he could hear currently, was the sound of his own labored breathing, and the weak beating of his heart. The light was gone as well, but he had a feeling that it had more to do with the fact that there was a bandage covering his eyes.

During the other moments he had spent in wakefulness, he distinctly remembered being strapped down to a table of some sorts. But now, he could move about freely, albeit sluggishly due to the pain that weighed down upon his limbs.

When a voice rang out suddenly, he started slightly, but then ignored it. The voice was unfamiliar and he didn't trust it. Until it informed him of how long he had been there as a captive.

"Look boy, you've been our prisoner for a grand total of two days. And that's even _with _what the lab did to you." Duo frowned slightly. Only two days? He was sure he'd been there for much longer. A thought crossed his mind as the speaker continued, and he chose to ignore the person and continue with his thoughts.

The others… he hoped terribly that they were all right… Suddenly a loud humming caught his attention, and he felt the pain and weariness drain from his body, He had no clue what those idiots were doing, but he knew it was making him dangerous. Finally, with the pain gone, he was able to notice that his senses had been enhanced. He smirked as he started to hear the panicked shouts of the strangers. The fools thought that they could create a weapon, and use it for their own purposes? The idiots had only succeeded in making their enemy that much stronger, endowing Shinigami with an even deadlier means of disposing of them. As he stood, he heard the scientist start to go hysterical with fear. He could hear it, smell it… and he could taste it. A smirk that promised death played upon his features. It was time to let Shinigami out to play, in a violent rain of blood.

0101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101

When Heero, Wufei, Quatre and Trowa were finally able to get back into the base they were startled to find the disarray that it was in. The walls and floors were spattered with blood, and corpses littered the hallways. There was certain sense within their minds that no one escaped the wrath that had blown through here.

As they continued to walk down the hall, there were many doors, all of which were closed tight, and marked with a streak of blood. Save for one. At the very end of the hallway, they found a singular door, the only one that wasn't marked by blood, or closed. Cautiously, the four entered the room. Apparently it was one of the observation rooms, and huddled in a corner, was Duo Maxwell.

His hair was drenched with blood, and his clothing was still damp. From what skin was showing they could easily see that it was smeared with the red life force of the Oz soldiers. There was only one corpse in the room, and it lay in the corner. Heero went to investigate it, but came back and said nothing.

Quatre hesitantly stepped towards the fearsome sight that was their friend.

"D-Duo?" the blood-drenched pilot lifted his head towards the sound of the gentle pilots voice, and they could only gasp.

Crimson gauze covered his eyes, hiding them from view. And, as was the rest of him, damp from blood.

"Duo!" Quatre ran towards their friend. And when Duo spoke, his voice was hoarse and filled with confusion.

"Quatre…?" he slowly moved his head to look at where he had heard his friend. Or at least, he would have been looking had the gauze not been covering his violently violet eyes. "What…happened…? …Why…?"

"He's confused…" murmured the usually impassive pilot. Heero shook his head at Trowa's remark.

"No. He's in shock." They were sure that they had spoken quiet enough that Duo wouldn't have been able to hear them. But, much to their chagrin, he heard them anyway.

"Heero? …Trowa? I'm… probably both… right at this point…in time…" a shaky chuckle sounded from his throat. "I'm amazed th-that I'm s-still coherent to this… degree…" Wufei looked at the braided boy, and strode past Quatre to kneel beside him.

"Come on Duo. We're getting you out of here." Said boys mouth dropped open as he stared at Wufei with his bandaged eyes.

"…Fei…You didn't …call me…Maxwell…" Wufei smiled gently at the astonished boy, but unfortunately, Duo couldn't see it.

"Come. I believe that you'll be wanting a bath." A small smile worked its way onto Duo's blood smeared face, and Wufei started to help him get to his feet. But the moment the American was on his feet, a strangled cry was cut off early from Duo. "Duo?!"

The others quickly rushed over. Duo was on his feet and standing, but only just barely. It was now apparent that the blood that covered him was not entirely someone else's.

Slash marks marred his back and chest, still dripping blood, and apparent on his legs were multiple bullet wounds that also, still bled.

The four rescuers quickly looked to one another, and hastily removed their injured companion from the bloodstained base. When they were an appropriate distance away, Heero hit a detonator. Plumes of smoke billowed up into the air, and Duo Maxwell slipped into oblivion.

**End Chapter One

* * *

Leikaru: Well??? What did you think??? Will you review?? It would be much appreciated!!!!**

Vulpus: More reviews, means a faster update. Seriously... I think that's why the other fic kinda died. No one reviewed...

Leikaru: Any way, Review please! I've already started the second chapter, and would like to know if people want more!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Lei: Hiya people! Ya miss me?

Vulpus: I highly doubt that they missed you...

Lei: -glares- Behave or I'll bring my other muse out!

Vulpus: ... Don't you dare, you evil phsycotic maniac!

Lei: -glares- Just for that, I really _will_ bring out my other muse. -stands in front of a door way that has a big fancy curtain- I now present... **_Sain!!!!_**

Vulpus: -pales as Lei pulls the curtain down and reveals Sain- ...oh no...

Sain: I am very honoured to make your acquantance, dear readers and I must apologize on Leikaru's behalf for my late appearance and the lat update. -looks at Vulpus- And it is good to see you again Kitsune.

Vulpus: -snarl- Why hello Neko...

Lei: -looks odly at the two bishies-Yeah.. Well, sadly my computer was being screwy and I couldn't logg into ANYTHING, which is why this is so late in being updated.

Sain and Vulpus: But it's fixed now, so here's the disclaimer

Leikaru does NOT own gundam wing or it's characters. If she did... well you'd know right away. All rights belong to the people who created the anime's and manga's. Now the laywers can't come lock her away because she said she doesn't own them

Lei: Righto! Now onto the story!!!

* * *

"It's been two weeks since we liberated him out of that base, and he _still _hasn't woken up!" Quatre's outraged voice rang through his study at one of his safe house mansions, as he ranted to the other pilots about Duo's current condition. " And on top of that, we haven't even figured out what those _fucked up scientists did to him_!" Sitting in the chair behind his desk, the small blonde sat with his arms crossed over his chest, his legs crossed, and a scowl adorned his face instead of the usual gentle smile. The other three pilots just stared at him.

"…Did… Winner just _swear_?" Wufei looked incredulously back and forth between the out of character Arabian and at his Japanese lover. Heero merely nodded, but could not stop his eyes from widening slightly as he looked at Quatre. Sandrocks pilots scowl deepened even further.

"And is there a _fucking** PROBLEM **_with that?!" Trowa shrunk back involuntarily from his lover's tone, and could only shake his head as he tried to calm the boy.

"No little one, there's nothing wrong with that. You just… caught them by surprise seeing as you usually don't use such language in front of them…" as Trowa spoke, he thought numbly to himself, ' And this is the first time I've heard you swear outside of… the _normal _circumstances…'

Quatre's foul mood showed just how worried he was for his American friend. He felt extremely guilty about the whole ordeal, seeing as he felt himself to blame for Duo's previously horrendous condition. During the time that they had had after liberating Deathscythe's pilot from the base, he had healed to the point of questioning if he had ever been injured in the first place. Which was incredibly surprising, also considering the fact that he showed no signs of waking any time soon.

Of course all the pilots were concerned, but perhaps the most concerned were Heero and Wufei. Quatre was the only one who knew of Asian pairs concealed affection for the braided American, for they hid it exceedingly well, but he found it difficult _not_ to notice. Quatre had also taken the unknown liberty, even to himself, of discovering that Duo, too, harbored these feelings for the Japanese and Chinese pilots. And simply because Duo was too dense for his own good, he was completely blind to the two's affections for him, but he _had _noticed the attraction for each other, and thus, had played matchmaker. Making the two Asian beauties believe that what he felt for them was simply friendship. The sound of Wufei's voice broke through Quatre's train of thought.

"We should have been there sooner for him… we should have never left the base without him…" the distressed look upon his face spoke volumes to the empathetic blonde, and the sad look upon Heero's face did not go unnoticed either.

"If it's anyone's fault Wufei, it's mine." He cast a baleful look at the Chinese youth before continuing. " And as you said yourself. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself." Trowa moved over to where Quatre was seated to silently comfort his lover.

"He's right Wufei." Trowa spoke then to the pilot of Wing Zero. "Nor would he want you to blame yourself Heero. We received bad information. That's all. If you really want someone to blame, blame that cursed informant." At these words, both Heero and Wufei called upon grim smiles to light upon their faces.

"Believe me. I already have." Wufei glanced sharply at his lover to correct him. " We already have…" perplexed looks crossed Quatre's and Trowa's faces as they looked at the two standing across from them.

"What do you mean?"

"It's very simple Quatre. You recall how we disappeared for a few hours after tending to Duo, correct?" Quatre affirmed Heero, and he continued. " Well, Wufei and I took the liberty of depriving that man from any… _further_ incorrect assumptions about where we will strike next." The two that had just learned of the time spent away from the injured pilot, decided not to question as to how the two had disposed of the foolish soul who had fed them false information.

"Ah… I see… so what is our ne…" Quatre's question was cut off by the sound off a scream from just down the hallway. After glancing at each other for mere seconds, the four rushed to see what the reason for the shout had been.

0101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101

As Duo came around, he started to panic. Until he remembered who it was who had retrieved him from the clutches of the dead base. He looked about curiously, trying to dispel memories from his mind, despite the fact that they were only fragmented pieces that were incredibly blurry. The only main thing he really truly remembered was the fear he smelt from the Oz soldiers and scientists, and the constant sight and smell of blood.

As he glanced around the room, he soon came to the conclusion that they were at one of Quatre's mansions. After a moment though, he flopped back down onto the bed and groaned. His eyes were slightly sore, and it was almost like they were trying to adjust to having new pupils. Deciding that he couldn't just stay there, and that he had to tell the others he was awake, he rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a slight thump, then proceeding to stand up. Which proved more difficult than he thought it would, seeing as he was assaulted with a wave of dizziness. Wobbling for a mere moment, he finally regained his balance and was able to walk. That's when he discovered that his hearing was much better than it should have been, and noises attacked his now sensitive ears. He elicited another groan, but forced himself to continue. His eyes were reacting to the pain he felt as well, seeing as they kept on going into and out of focus.

Upon at last reaching the door, he gingerly turned the knob, and was met by the sight of one of Quatre's maids. Who, upon looking in his eyes, screamed in a very high pitch, causing the violet-eyed boy to drop to the floor, clutching his ears in pain. The maid drew herself away from him, backing into the wall, in a rather protective stance, almost as if she expected him to reach out and attack her. The sound of running feet sounded to both, and Quatre rounded the corner with Trowa, Wufei and Heero hot on his tail.

"Genevieve! What's wrong!" the maid had flung herself at the poor blonde, and progressed into tears as she pointed terrified, at the curled up Duo.

"His eyes! They were fearsome as a sand cat! I fear him to be one of the devils minions!" the four upright pilots finally noticed where the maid, Genevieve, was pointing.

"Duo!" Heero and Wufei were immediately by his side, attempting to sooth the shuddering boy, as Trowa went over to Quatre and Genevieve, and explained to her whom Duo was.

"I'm afraid, Miss Genevieve, that Duo is no… devils advocate, but a gundam pilot such as my self and Quatre." This halted her tears immediately, and she glared accusingly at the American huddled on the floor.

"But his eyes! I swear they were of a feline's!" Quatre gentle calmed her down, insisting that what she saw, had merely been a trick of the light, and after a while, she finally believed him, but was still wary of the curled up boy. After she left, Quatre and Trowa turned to Heero and Wufei.

"How is he?" Quatre's timid voice floated to Wufei, and he turned from where he had Duo cradled in his arms, still trembling. Heero sat opposite, gentle stroking the Americans hair in a soothing gesture.

"I'm not sure…he's holding his ears, and he just can't stop from shivering… I don't have a clue as to what's wrong with him Winner…" frowning at Wufei's words, Quatre came closer to the three, and spoke gently to their American friend.

"Duo… Duo it's Quatre." A low groan found it's way from Duo's throat and he tried to hide himself in Wufei's embrace. A slight flush came upon the Chinese youths face as he gently tightened his grip on Deathscythe's pilot. But after a moment more, whatever had plagued him seemed to pass, for he relaxed his grip on his ears and seemed to realize where he was, or rather who was holding him. And from Trowa's position he could see the anguished look that came across Duo's face, though he knew not as to why it was there. And he slowly pulled from the embrace.

"Duo…?" slowly, he looked up to face Trowa a slightly dazed look upon his face, and his eyes were slightly glazed over. "Are you alright?" cautiously he nodded his head, as though he was being careful of a headache. And a low hoarse whisper elicited from his mouth.

"What happened?" Quatre looked in slight confusion before he answered.

"Well, as soon as we got you out of the base, you slipped into unconsciousness. We brought you back here and tended to your wounds, which are fully healed by now, and this is the first time you've been awake since we brought you here. Which is two weeks by the way…" the look on Duo's face was confusing to those present, seeing as he looked exasperated, wary, fearful, angry, and sorrowful all at the same time. Then he sighed, put his hand to his face and looked at the floor.

"…Maxwell…?" Wufei's inquisitive tone made Duo look up blankly for a moment before a small grin made it's way onto his face.

" I don't suppose I could get something to eat… after all. I have been asleep for…. what was it?" He paused before continuing. " Two weeks?"

* * *

Lei: So??? What did you think? Was it any good? I apologize in advance if I'm making the story go by a little fast... -pouts-

Vul and Sain: Why are YOU pouting...

Lei: cause I can. So there. And despite the fact that you two CLAIM to hate eachother... you seem to be doing a lot of agreeing.

V: 0.0

S: o.O Just because I do not totally agree with him ALL the time, does not mean that there are times when we are NOT in agreement. Besides. He's the one he claims he doesn't like me.

L: ...--;; Well... if people want a description of what these two idiots look like, ask me, and maybe I'll have a vote later on to see if they end up working together or Sain takes Vulpus's place, or if Vulpus will stay...

Untill next time Minna!!


	3. Chapter 3

Leikaru: Ah! I'm so sorry I took so long with the update! Please forgive me!

V/S: It's your own fault if they don't read this cause you took so long you slacker.

L: -sobs- I'm so sorry! I don't own GW or the characters! If I did... -glares pointedly at the stupid lawyers outside the window- I wouldn't be writing this. Now would I. -sounds venemous-

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, it became apparent to all that maybe Duo knew a little more as to what happened to him than he was willing to let on. His reaction time was faster, it was MUCH harder to sneak up on him and once he even claimed, while he was listening to very loud music, that the reason that Wufei had been unable to sneak up on him was because he could smell him. Though he'd been a little confused as to how when asked.

And despite all this, the vicious cycle of misunderstanding continued and all Quatre could do was watch unhappily as Duo watched Heero and Wufei longingly and as they gazed at him. It was starting to give him a headache. Though luckily, none of them had been called upon to under take any missions as of yet, and Heero and Wufei had adamantly refused to allow Duo to partake in anything too strenuous. The braided American had argued that he was fine, and technically speaking he was, but they still wanted to ensure that he was perfectly fine in every aspect.

"QUATRE!!!!" Duo's pleading yell snapped the Arabic boy out of his thoughts as a black blur shot into the room, quickly followed by an infuriated Wufei. Sighing in exasperation, the blonde turned to watch as Wufei cornered the mockingly terrified Duo.

" What did he do this time Wufei?" the Chinese youth turned bright red and started mumbling. This seemed to greatly amuse Duo though, because he began to snicker. " … Wufei?" but all he heard was only more stuttering and mumbling.

" What he MEANS to say, is that Heero got called in for a mission and I suggested that Fei here stock up on toys and lube for when he gone and when he gets back!" the cheerfulness that oozed out of the cornered boy was astounding, and Wufei seemed to snap out of his embarrassed daze upon Duo repeating, though much more politely, what he had said, and was soon threatening to dismember Duo right there on the spot. Which Duo, apparently, had no intention of letting him do so for in the next few moments he had vaulted straight OVER Wufei's head and was running once more and laughing manically. The Arabic and Chinese boys only stared in shock as the looked after the bouncing American.

"No…No more coffee for Duo…" and Quatre was about to readily agree when said boy came bouncing back, a mischievous grin dancing wildly across his features.

"Didn't have no coffee today!" before he quickly dashed away, less Wufei snap out of it and decide to come after him once more. This time the two left behind just gaped.

"I want to know what he's on, and where I can get some myself."

"GAH!" Wufei and Quatre both whirled around at the sound of Trowa's voice and stared incredulously at him before Wufei walked away wide eyed and mumbling about crazy people and the injustice of everything. Quatre remained behind to stare at his lover. Trowa just shrugged and left the room, leaving the aqua marine eyed boy to ponder the sanity of every one he knew, before he heard Heero calling for him, Trowa and Wufei.

010205010205010205010205010205010205010205010205

After having successfully escaped the wrath of one of his secret crushes, Duo let himself wander out into the yard that surrounded the grounds of Quatre's mansion, and into the surrounding woods. He walked for a while not thinking about anything, before he came to a small spring where the sun light shone a glimmering gold through the emerald green leaves, to gently settle upon the gentle sway of the crystal clear water. And not twenty paces from where he stood, a stag stood proudly, watching him as if daring him to hurt any of the forest dwellers that lived within his domain. Softly Duo reassured him.

"No worries, this is one hunter you won't have to worry about. I can find my food elsewhere." The stag seemed to accept this, and after a moment he walked away leaving the gundam pilot to his thoughts. With a simple sigh, Duo sat himself down on a large rock that jutted into the water, removed his shoes, and dipped his feet into the river.

Ever since he had woken up, Duo's recollection of what he had done within the base had grown sharper, and he know knew precisely what had happened. It was NOT one of the other experiments like the others had presumed. It had been HIM. What ever those bastards had done to him had kicked in minutes after he had woken up, causing him to lash out and kill everyone on the base. It hadn't been until he had dragged back that bastard scientist back to an empty room and disemboweled him did he actually realize what he had done. And by then it had been much too late. Everyone was already dead, and he almost lost himself in what he had done, rending his own flesh with razor claws, already stained crimson with the blood of is adversaries. He was positive he would have killed himself had he not heard and smelled Heero and Wufei.

"Hn… why did I stop and change back…?"He pondered this one thought for the next half hour, and didn't notice as the time went by. "Maybe… I can change again…"

03040304030403040304030403040304030403040304030403040304

"What did you need to see us for Heero?" Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Heero all sat in one of the rooms that the safe house provided, and faced each other. For a moment, Heero looked pensive, almost afraid to speak.

" When we…recovered Duo…" his voice was grim as he spoke "There was a corpse in the opposite corner of the room, and it was dressed like a scientist." Silently, the other three looked incredulously at the Japanese male.

"Then… does Duo know what they did to him?" Quatre spoke questioningly to Heero, trying to confirm something.

"No. He would have been lying back then when he first woke up." Heero shook his head slowly. " It's possible he knows what the end result was, but not what they did exactly to him. In that sense, he wouldn't have been lying."

Slowly shaking his head Quatre sighed and looked out the window. Trowa placed a hand on his lovers' slim shoulder and gripped it lightly.

"What did they do to him?" but Quatre's question went unanswered as Heero's laptop beeped, signaling a mission. No one heard the brief scream of agony that echoed from the forest.

* * *

L: Well, if ya like it, please review! -practically begging-

S: -rolls eyes and glomps Vulpus-

V: Rarg! -flops onto floor Sain squishing him-


	4. Chapter 4

L: Hello everyone! I am incredibly sorry that I took so long to update! Writers block got in the way, and small surgery got in the way, _family_ got in the way... you know. Life in general. But here is the next chapter up a LOT later than I planned.

V/S: You wouldn't believe all the times she blamed us for her writer's block.

Disclaimer: I don't own, really wish I did, but that's not going to happen.

Warnings: Language, pilot pain (physical and mental), just plain creepiness.

Duo shuddered silently in pain as he felt his body slowly start to morph into an alien shape. His hands began to change shape and his nails grew thick, pointed, and sharp; his body grew as it twisted from its norm, and he could not help but let a brief cry of agony twist from his lips as his spine elongated. Along with this, his skin darkened, as did his hair, which now grew to cover his entire body.

In just under two minutes, Duo Maxwell, pilot 02, had completely transformed. He was now the creature that had ran amok through an Oz base, slaughtering close to two hundred soldiers; every single one of them.

A thick glossy tail gently twitched along the grass it lay on, before coming to curl beside an enormous, deadly clawed, hind right paw. Sunlight glistened off shimmering onyx fur, glancing around powerful muscles and curves, to light upon the finely structured face and muzzle of a feline. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he panted from the pain of the transformation, but did not make a sound aside from this as his predatory amethyst eyes adjusted to their new range of focus and he flexed one large paw experimentally.

A sudden rustle in the nearby bushes immediately caught his attention and rounded ears perked up before what could be considered a feral smirk pulled lips away from knife like teeth before a playful growl rumbled from his throat as he crouched to pounce.

Duo Maxwell, Gundam pilot 02, Shinigami, had become a black Siberian tiger.

When he was finally able to fully appreciate his new form, the American was floored by all the new scents, visuals and sounds that assaulted him. He knew without seeing, that the stag he had encountered earlier was only 50 yards away from his present position by the stream. And the smells… he was amazed by how much his sense of smell had improved from its already improved state. He could smell the wild roses that stood just by the entrance to the forest from the safe house, as if he had them right under his nose. It was then that another scent grabbed his attention.

Humans were approaching... and they had guns.

010203040501020304050102030405

Heero, Wufei, Trowa and Quatre sat around the computer that held the details to their next mission. It was simple enough; Heero and Trowa were to infiltrate the base even as Quatre and Wufei distracted the Oz personnel by attacking with the Gundams. While Oz scrambled around trying to get rid of the two attacking, Heero and Trowa were to locate a suitable computer, and download all the information onto a disc. They would then set a virus into the system that would, after about five minutes, lead to the rather explosive end of the base.

"The layout of the building is essentially easy to memorize on short notice, so I don't think that this should be too difficult to pull off." Heero's monotone cut the silence after a moment and his statement received nods of agreement from his companions. But a sudden sigh from Quatre caused heads to swivel in his direction.

"The hardest part of all this will be telling Duo that he can't accompany us on the mission." He shook his blonde head, " You realize that he's going to be rather annoyed." Wufei and Heero shared a look of brief guiltiness before nodding in union.

The Chinese pilot stared at the ceiling, wondering how the violet-eyed boy would take the information. He snorted at the sudden vision of Duo pulling out a gun, threatening to kill them, before running off to complete the mission on his own. Actually, Wufei could truly see that happening. Duo had no exactly been his chipper self, with various rather grumpy moods threatening to overrun his normally hyper persona.

" Maxwell will most likely act angry, ignore us for a day or two after we get back, then proceed to pull a scandalous prank on all of us before returning to normal." Quatre chuckled lightly at Wufei's thoughts on how Duo would react. He quickly sobered as he fixed the two Asians with a look that even had Trowa raising an eyebrow.

" When are you going to tell him?" at this, Trowa raised both eyebrows, and the other two pilots looked to the ground. They all knew that the blonde was not talking about the mission.

"We're not even sure he'd accept…" the sudden glare that appeared on Quatre's face quickly cut off the mumbled answer that fell from Heero's lips. The Arabic boy stood and stalked over to the two, raising his hands to poke the two in the head.

"You two are such fools."

"But he already had Hilde."

"You're wrong Wufei. He thinks of her as a sister. Nothing more."

"That's right you two. The pair of you are so blind, that you need someone else to open your eyes for you!"

"You're really one to talk Quatre. Who was it that set you and Trowa up? Duo I do believe."

Quatre went slightly red at this comment, but spoke again.

"True as that may be, he also set the two of you up thinking that you only had eyes for each other. Not for him as well."

Heero opened his mouth to reply to Quatre's stinging remark, when a very flustered looking Duo burst into the room. All the other four occupants went shock still as they waited for a reaction to their conversation. A reaction that would never happen, as Duo had never heard the conversation because he had just ran back from the woods to enter the safe house. He panted out through wild motions and wide eyes, the one sentence that they had all hoped to never hear.

"Oz… they found the safe house."

010205010205010205010205010205010205

"They what!?" Quatre's outburst quickly remedied the other three pilots of their trance like state. Heero quickly set about erasing their presence from the safe house, first by folding up his laptop, and then by gathering the rest of their equipment from the room and placing it in a large black duffel bag. Wufei quickly went into the single bedroom of the house, and grabbed all five of the remaining bags, dragging them into the room he had previously left, whilst Trowa nimbly ran into the kitchen making the room appear as though it hadn't been used in many years by spreading a fine layer of dirt over everything. Quatre went about doing the same in the other two rooms. Fortunately, there wasn't much to be done in order to make the building appear as though it had been deserted for years, as none of them had bothered to clean the grimy windows in case something like this actually occurred. When everything was said and done, they met outside behind the safe house. It was Trowa who spoke first.

" How much time do we have left?" Duo shook his head.

"I'm not sure." At the looks he received, he continued. " All I know is that a set of fifteen Oz soldiers were marching straight towards the safe house. I couldn't tell for sure that they know that we're here, but in about ten minutes they'll be within sight of the safe house."

"Actually, pretty boy, those fifteen soldiers where a decoy. We're already here."

The five teenagers turned slowly to look at the Oz soldiers emerging from the forest and each paled considerably at the malicious glint that appeared in the speakers' eyes as he spoke once more.

"Pity we have to take you alive."

Not even Heero had time to issue a death threat as they were all shot with stun guns at the same time, their vision flowing to black as they all cursed themselves for letting their guard down.

The last sound any of them heard, was the booming laugh that seemed to issue from the throat of all of their adversaries.

0304030403040304030403040304030403040304

"I brought them alive, just as you requested Commander Alsin." A bow found its path along the body of the soldier as he addressed his superior. "Though why you wanted them alive I'm unsure." A deep chuckle found its way from Commander Alsin as the other spoke.

" At the genetics base, the personnel there managed to capture pilot 02 and perform a highly advanced altercation with his genetics." He paused for a moment to savour the slightly sickened look on the other mans face before continuing. " I was able to watch the process, so I am vaguely aware of what they did to him, but not of the end result as I was required at a very important meeting. I did, however, see the base and the corpses after 02 escaped. It was a rather sickening sight I must say. Mutilated bodies littered the hallways, blood painted not just the floor, but the walls and ceilings as well. Intestines were strewn about the place, and then I lost the video feed because the others blew the base up." Alsin shook his head despairingly at the tragic demise of the base. "Can you imagine all the work that was lost? All the research and the test subjects… gone in the blinks of an eye… all save for two."

" Two, sir?" the question the soldiers eyes elicited yet another deep chuckle from Alsin's throat.

"Yes." He nodded his head as firmly as he spoke. "Another test subject survived other than 02. He had already been released as a horrible failure. Of course…" this time it was a shake of the head. "I saw him for what he really was."

"Sir?"

"The perfect weapon to use against the Gundam pilots should we ever capture them." Just then, an Oz soldier popped his head into the room.

"Commander Alsin, the pilots are beginning to regain consciousness." A malign smile formed on the Commander's face.

"Excellent. Now raise the wall separating their room from Derek's."

0102030405010203040501020304050102030405

"02 report status." The first sound that Duo heard was Heero's tense voice just inches away from his right ear, slightly behind him. Suppressing the urge to groan, he replied;

"Awake with a serious urge to decimate some Oz ass." He sat up slowly, taking in their current holding room. It appeared as though the others were all awake, and Duo snorted in annoyance. Before anyone could speak, a grating noise filled the room, and the far left wall began to rise. When the noise finally stopped, another sound could be heard from the darkness of the expanded room. A chilled unnerving voice sang childlike from within the gloom.

"Ring around the Rosies, pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all… bleed… dry…"

Well? What did you think? Was it up to your standards?

S: I doubt it. You also took like... what. Three months to update or something?

V: You have to hate life when it gets like that don't you.


	5. Chapter 5

L: I am SOOOO sorry I took so long to put this up! I meant to put this up like, three weeks ago, but we had people rewiring our house, and then the internet wouldn't work and... well... you get the picture.

S/V: Yeah... you realize they're all going to hate you because you took so long, right?

L: -cries- I'm SORRY!!!!!

V: Ok Sain. I think you've made her cry enough.

S: I'll stop, but only because you told me too.

V:... Leikaru doesn't own gundam wing. If she did, she wouldn't be writting this. And Relena wouldn't exist.

* * *

Hauntingly childish was the song that rang from the depths of the dark, chilling the blood of the five Gundam pilots that sat in the far corner. Scrambling to their feet, they watched wide eyed as the large hulking figure of a monster stepped into the light, a fierce contrast to the higher pitched voice that he used to sing. The combination of his macabre visage and voice caused the pilots to cringe.

His face was twisted, discoloured, deformed… and nothing would have made him appear differently. His left eye bulged from its socket, twisting at an awkward angle to look towards the right, glowing a sickly green that seemed to make it pulse. The right was little more than a gash set in his face, entirely black with a red pupil that glared menacingly. His sneer allowed a glimpse of the blackened and filed teeth that littered the monstrosities oral cavity, and the horrid scaring that marred his face pulled the mouth to one side, making him seem even more terrifying. The colour of his skin was an unnatural bulbous purple that only enhanced his petrifying appearance. No hair adorned his head.

But was the perhaps the most disturbing sight of all, was ax he dragged with his left hand, and the chainsaw he cradled with his right. Both were stained with blood, and bits of crusted flesh clung to the chainsaws teeth.

While the pilots were trying to come to terms with the monsters appearance, a voice that was provokingly cruel rang out through the room from a hidden speaker catching even the giant's attention.

"Welcome Gundam pilots. I hope you like the little room I've constructed for your play." Greasy and slick, the voice made the five boys want to plug their ears. "My name is Alsin and this… this is Derek." He sounded as though he were introducing a favourite son. "He is an Oz soldier who willingly submitted to the testing and experimentation that lead to the resulting appearance before you. He's wondrous, is he not little Gundam pilots?"

Very carefully, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei edged away form where Derek stood, glancing furtively about, in the hopes that they would spot some way out but only two ways looked even remotely promising. The air vent that went about halfway up the wall, and the large circular grate in the ceiling that would have been impossible to reach without assistance from a ladder of some sort. The Japanese youth gestured minutely towards the air vent, but Duo seemed to be transfixed on one portion of the wall, and it seemed as though he wasn't blinking.

"You Oz bastards are sick, you know that?" he shook his head, eyes transfixed, ignoring the looks he received from the others. "Experimenting on humans for the fun of it?" the tone he used was icy and so hateful that even Heero shivered involuntarily.

"Well…" the speaker cackled back into life, bringing Alsin's voice along with it. "I suppose you have a very valid point, Mister pilot 02," chuckling deeply the Oz follower continued "But I must say that YOU are the most wonderful creation that we have come up with yet." Duo snorted in disgust. " As of yet, you are the only living experiment to be totally free of any side effects, and still be able to transform. All those before you perished in a rather… unseemly end. Quite gruesome I must admit."

Bewilderedly, the American stared at the spot as before, but did not find it as amusing as Alsin, who seemed greatly pleased with the revelation. The deep chuckle sounded once more, causing all the pilots to sneer in annoyance.

"You seem surprised that I can tell you can still transform, 02." There seemed to be no stopping him once he got started. "You wish to know how? Well here you have it.

When we performed the genetic experiments on you, your bio-signature was altered to a more… shall we say, specific, nature. Had you been unable to transform, your bio-signature would appear to be that of any normal human beings, but seeing as you CAN transform, well… I do believe that I've already explained." Scowling, Duo glared heatedly at the wall, as if hoping that by some chance it would melt. "Well, I do believe that I have spent long enough delaying the inevitable, so I leave you to your play time Derek. Have fun!" the hidden speaker cackled once, and they knew it was no longer on.

"Goddamn mother fucking, shit eating, brain-dead, bitch whipped, retarded bastards!" the stream if curses was all that the American pilots had time to utter before a guttural giggle stopped all of them cold. The giggle sounded once more before Derek spoke in the high-pitched voice of a child.

"Here Kitty kitty, come and play with me, pretty kitty!" the maniacal laughter that followed matched perfectly with the glint in his distorted eyes as he continued on in a singsong voice. "I'm going to bash them, and smash them, and cut them all up…" he smiled, showing the blackened fangs, "And while they're still screaming…" he paused to giggle, "I'll eat them all up. But not kitty, no. Kitty will stay and be Derek's pet, yes kitty will." Highly disturbed, it was Trowa who spoke quietly, addressing the psychopath with a tone as one would a wounded animal.

"Who's Kitty, Derek." But the monster merely sniggered like a child with a secret, and wouldn't say. Instead, it was Duo who answered Heavyarms pilot.

"I'm Kitty… right Derek?" the big smile plastered on his face was all the answer that Duo needed. "Yes. That's right…" Duo's face was blank, but the tone of his voice betrayed his calm exterior. "I'm sorry Derek. Kitty can't let you eat them, and Kitty can't stay with you and be your pet."

The change in the genetically altered man was immediate and truthfully, quite terrifying. The giggle's stopped, and both his eyes focused on the American in a menacing glare.

"Kitty bad…Derek eat Kitty first." With a sigh, Duo slowly stood upright and shook his head.

"Sorry Derek. Can't let that happen either."

Heero and Wufei, and Trowa and Quatre all stood to the side of the room, staring incredulously at the exchange that was taking place before them. It seemed incredibly surreal, as Duo was not his usual self and by rights, Derek shouldn't be in the ominous state he was. Then another question was raised as it became apparent that a fight was about to occur. How would Duo even be able to lay a finger on the monster before them that had obviously been altered for combat? Even the Japanese pilot was having doubts that HE would be able to defeat the Oz soldier without a very large gun. But an audible crack had them all starting out of their reverie even as Duo lurched forward onto his hands and knees.

The two Asian pilots made to rush towards Duo who had, during the conversation with Derek, moved closer to the altered soldier but the rumbling growl that escaped from Duo's throat stopped them dead in their tracks.

"Don't… you'll come within his attacking range if you do." Upon his words, the other pilots noticed that Derek was no longer dragging the ax, nor was he cradling the chainsaw. He held them offensively, instead the relaxed grip he had had before he had abruptly changed moods. But all thoughts of their own safety flew from their minds as the obvious sound of ribs breaking rang out. Wanting to make sure their friend was all right, but knowing that there would need to be a distraction should Derek attack, Quatre and Trowa hung back, watching him warily.

"Maxwell, what's going on? That sounded like your ribs!" the deep chuckle that Duo made, no longer sounded human. Wufei looked lost as to what to do when the American made no attempt to reply.

"It was…" Heero was gently prodding the Americans ribs, quite startled to find that they were broken in several places, but on instinct, drew his hand back rapidly as the broken ribs suddenly expanded outward to a larger size, and immediately reattached. "What the…"

"You might want to back up, at least just a little bit." The strained vocalization made the two Asian pilots instantaneously obey.

There was no scream this time as Duo fell into the excruciating pain that accompanied the transformation fully took over, for Duo had been expecting the pain this round. But there was nothing he could do to stop the writhing that had his four comrades looking on in horrified entrapment.

Bones cracked, grew, rearranged, and after mere seconds he was deformed almost beyond recognition as even his face was rearranging with the transformation. Derek and the pilots looked on in morbid fascination as even the deformed shape quickly melted into a sleek and sturdy form. His hair turned of the deepest black, shimmered in the light of the room, and soon he was enrobed in glimmering fur. With one last snap, the transformation was complete.

Duo Maxwell was once more, the giant, solid black Siberian tiger that had ripped through the Genetics Oz base, killing all the occupants.

Hesitantly, Quatre spoke, almost as if afraid that if he addressed the tiger that he would be pounced upon.

"Duo…?" closed eyes snapped open to narrow in on the blonde pilot, arousing a gasp from even Trowa.

Duo's once deep indigo eyes were now an icy violet that seemed to pierce with a predators gaze.

Breaking free of his trance that was induced when Duo had started to transform, Derek roared with viscous delight at the thought of a worthy opponent, then proceeded to launch himself at the tiger.

Easily evading, the tiger stepped to one side and waited a moment before launching himself at Derek's unprotected back. Claws sunk into back and side muscle, while fangs searched out the collarbone. The monstrosity that was Derek bellowed with pain, stumbling to his knees under the weight of the six hundred pound feline. In slight panic, Derek swung backwards with the ax, and was greatly delighted when the blade bit deeply of Duo's flank. With a roar the Siberian tiger immediately removed himself from Derek's back, and after gaining an appropriate distance faced off once more with the creature.

Within moments, the two beasts were once more striking for blood, one giggling insanely, and the other growling with fury.

020202020202020202020202020202

"Well this should be fairly interesting…more so than normal…" Alsin was murmuring to himself more than the guard that stood at attention near his doorway, looking rather sick as he watched the screen that showed the Gundam pilots and Derek. Quirking an eyebrow at the soldier, Alsin addressed the young man who had helped bring in the five pilots. "Oh come now. You WERE one of the ones who brought them to me _alive_. You should have known that their deaths would be rather… amusing." Unsure of whether or not to reply to Alsin, the soldier kept his silence until a small smile encouraged from Alsin encouraged him to speak.

"I brought them back alive on orders." He slowly shook his head. " I assumed it was so they could be interrogated about their allies and such…not…" he gestured bleakly at the monitor, before turning his gaze to stare at the floor. Alsin looked at the soldier, scrutinizing him, before speaking.

"You didn't think that they would be teens, did you." the soldier nodded glumly. "They remind you of your own child." Startled, the other man looked up. It was then that Alsin noticed the hue of the soldiers' eyes. They were a rather unusual shade of indigo that he had only seen on one other person. A certain gundam pilot to be exact.

"I don't have a child sir, but if you're referring to the orphanage children I've been helping, then you would be correct." A dry chuckle escaped the soldiers' throat. "I'm not old enough to have children of that age. I'm only twenty-four, and the only family I ever had was back on L2. My parents are dead, and my younger brother missing and presumed dead." Had the soldier been paying attention during his speech, he would have noticed that the scientist looked rather maniacal.

"What would you do if I told you that I knew where your brother is. Your name _is _Daniel Emile, correct?" Alsin immediately flew to the other monitor when Daniel nodded slowly, a mystified look on his face, and ran a diagnostic on something, occasionally glancing up at the other monitor to watch the battle between the Gundam pilot and Derek.

"Sir?" the computer beeped and the words MATCH flashed across the screen. " If you would tell me sir, I would be eternally grateful. Even if he doesn't remember me…." He broke off at the expression on Alsin's face.

"Well, Daniel Emile… how about I show you where your brother is right now. He's here you know." he paused; his eyes and voice thick with malicious amusement. "A family reunion would be most interesting."

02020202020202020202020202020202020202020202

"Duo! On your left!" Wufei's shout alerted the American turned tiger, to an incoming chainsaw swipe. With a rumble of thanks to the Chinese teen, he launched another counter attack, deeply scoring Derek's face.

The two were evenly matched for size, even id Duo outweighed Derek, and both were wounded. Derek's arm was raised for an ax swing when the speaker blared into life.

"Derek, down." The effect was immediate, and the pilots recognized it. The monster was effectively turned into a curios child, instead of a furious death machine.

"But Derek's having fun…" Alsin's voice chuckled over the speaker.

"Of course Derek, but I'm sending in one of my subordinates for a family reunion." With a pout, the monstrosity backed into the far wall.

With a creak, a whole in the ceiling opened up and a form fell, landing with an audible thump. Immediately though, the figure sat up.

"Dr. Alsin?!"

"You're the one who said they wanted to see their brother Mr. Emile." Confused, Daniel looked around. But when indigo eyes met icy violet, both were frozen, as though turned into statues. "Pilot 02, this is your brother, Daniel Emile."

* * *

L:Well??? What do you think??? Please let me know!!!

V/S: Reviews would be appreciated. It means less work on our part.

L: -glares at muses- just for that, no Halloween candy for you two!

V/S: 0.o;;;

CANDY FOR THOSE WHO REVIEW!!! Maybe a cookie too if asked.


	6. Chapter 6

Leikaru: Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter!! -throws cookies at the reviewers- and Takouto? If I could let you marry my brain, I'd let you! lol

Sain: ... Leikaru, you are a freak. And they'll think so too once they read once you put in here.

Leikaru: Oh come on. It's not that bad.

Vulpus: Yeah. It's only about as disgusting as Derek's appearance.

Leikaru: ... I'm not sure if I should thank you, or hit you. SAIN! DISCLAIMER. and the warnings too.

Sain: -sigh- fine... Leikaru owns nothing save for Daniel, Derek and Alsin. And the story line.

WARNINGS: language, and a couple scenes that could probably offend someone... maybe... depends on how easily you're grossed out.

Leikaru: -whack- DON'T GIVE ANYTHING AWAY!!

WARNING: Muse abuse.

Leikaru: -glares and sighs- Read and Review? Please?

* * *

Dead silence fell over the group as they tried to absorb the fact that the man in that hated Oz uniform, that lay shell shocked before them, was indeed Duo's brother. But the American pilot just shook his head and frowned. Heero noticed, but said nothing, instead diverting his attention to the man who had started to shout at the Alsin.

"Sir, this must be some sort of mistake! Or even some sort of sick joke!" his tone hysterically pitched, matched the wild look in his eyes. The look of utter denial. "There's no way that the Gundam Pilot 02 is my younger brother!" Daniel's voice raised an octave and cracked, making even himself wince. Duo felt tempted to cover his sensitive ears with his large paws, but thought better of it.

"I'm sorry Daniel, but there is absolutely no mistake in the DNA reading." He sounded greatly amused. "There is no way that the pilot 02 is not your brother." His next words were humorously sarcastic. "Unless, of course, I accidentally ran your DNA against Derek's. Which is impossible." The Oz soldier went tight lipped and his face paled, but could not ignore the fact that DNA never lied.

"So… 02 has a brother?" Quatre's quiet statement had Duo shaking his head emphatically, which the others took to be shock, but he growled furiously at the hidden speakers.

"Face it 02, Oz is in your blood, and there is absolutely no way that you can escape it." All the occupants in the room could practically hear the vile smile that had placed itself upon the lips of the psychotic genetic scientist while he spoke. " You should join us. Join Oz and you and Daniel can live a peaceful life, where you'll never have to fight again. You won't have to worry about the other pilots coming after you either, because we'll have Derek devour them. Especially those two Asian pilots. I don't like the looks they keep throwing in the direction of where they think the speakers are hidden. At least 03 and 04 have the decency to focus solely on Derek."

To say that Duo was irritated would be a very serious understatement. He could practically feel the livid heat coursing through his veins at the very thought that HIS pack would be considered food, let alone those he desired. The anger was so intense that he couldn't even move for fear of completely losing it and going berserk. It wasn't until Derek giggled maniacally that he snapped back into composure and loosed a roar that threatened to rupture eardrums and that had Oz personnel running about looking for the disturbance. The roar slowly abated into a deep rolling rumble that formed words, that shocked even Duo himself.

"You lay a hand on ANY of them, and you'll wish and pray that you'd never been born, let alone captured us!" they were all shocked upon hearing the words come from Duo's feline body, having assumed that he would be unable to converse do to the fact that the tigers vocal chords should not have been able to produce the sound necessary for human words, and that the structure of the mouth should have made it impossible to form the correct shapes for the sounds. But Duo's reaction and his companions' reactions were nothing compared to Alsin's. The scientists' response to this ability of the American pilots' was worthy of a madman's ramblings. He had left the speaker on so Daniel, Derek, and the Gundam pilots inadvertently heard.

"He can speak…? No, that should be physically impossible! I converted his DNA myself, there should be no other hidden abilities save for the transformation! I will have to ensure that Derek does nothing to kill this masterpiece, for I must study to see how far this mutation goes, and why it happened! When I find out why, no one will be able to say that I don't produce results! Just because the others that I tried to mutate turned out like Derek and died within the week, doesn't mean I'm not successful!" by the end of Alsin's rant, he was giggling like the Joker on his own Laughing Gas. (AN: don't ask. Batman reference.)

Heero and Wufei blanched at the thought of Oz experimenting even further upon their American, and they immediately let Alsin know what it was that they thought of his plan.

"If you so much as LOOK at him ever again, we're going to dismember, disembowel, and then finally behead you!" now at this, the two earned bewildered looks from even Daniel, who didn't know them well enough to know that his wasn't normal behavior for them. But all they got from Alsin was a laugh that sent chills crawling up their spines.

"Oh my… did I leave the speaker on? Ah well." He paused and a slight whirring noise was heard, making them presume that a camera was being adjusted. "We'll just have to see about that." He paused yet again, but this time when he spoke, his voice seemed cold enough to freeze fire. "Derek, feel free to kill them all, save for Kitty and the man in the suit."

The monstrosity needed no more urging, and immediately set after the Prussian eyed Japanese pilot as well as the onyx eyed Chinese pilot, the chainsaw roaring into life as he giggled like a small child at the thrill of his coming kill. Even Heero, who was normally light on his feet, failed to respond at the sight of Derek stalking towards them.

But neither Duo nor Daniel was thusly impeded, and both moved just as the chainsaw descended upon the two Asians.

Blood spurted in a wild ark, and a horrified gasp soon followed. Whether it was over the speaker or not, no one could tell.

0304030403040304030403040304030403040304

Alsin was highly amused as he watched Derek close in on the paralyzed pilots. Briefly he turned away from the monitor to look at the computer that sat to his right. He'd long since closed down the DNA match, but something was nagging at the back of his mind, and 02's reaction and his own words came swimming into clear focus. Scowling, he brought the program up on the screen, and this time he carefully selected the DNA data comparisons. Moments later his scowl deepened and he ran another set, different from the first. MATCH flashed across the screen and his scowl deepened into a look of pure anger. Alsin absolutely hated looking like a fool. Especially when he did it to himself and in his ow area of expertise nonetheless.

He turned back to the monitor just in time to see a spray of blood surge from tearing flesh from the contact of Derek's roaring chainsaw.

Alsin's eyes widened as he realized just whose flesh it was.

01050105010501050105010501050105010501050105

Derek stood in shock as he dumbly stared at the stump that used to be his ax-wielding arm. His gaze then turned to the bloody tiger that stared dumbfounded at the Oz soldier who sat heavily on the ground with the dead chainsaw piercing his intestines. Both stood protectively in front of the other pilots, but while Daniel would die from his wounds, Duo had only suffered a deep gauge in his right shoulder from when he had pushed the chainsaw away from Heero and Wufei. But then both turned to glare menacingly at the grotesquely mutated man.

Derek didn't even notice he was dying, even as he giggled while held in the thrall of euphoria as he imagined that it was the pilots that lay bleeding on the floor, and not his own arm. He dropped to the ground beside his severed arm, and picked up the still warm flesh of his own body, and started to greedily devour it. It took a few minutes for his actions to halt, but when they did and he finally died, he passed on with the taste of his own flesh bitingly tangy on his own tongue.

Daniel and Duo looked as though they might be sick, while Heero, Wufei, Quatre and Trowa all dropped to the ground with their eyes wide in disbelief, as the blood finally stopped pumping from the severed artery in Derek's arm. They all stared numbly before Daniel finally realized that he had a chainsaw in his intestines, and whimpered lowly as the fact that he was going to die hit him full force.

He had finally found his brother, only to discover that his kin was on the side of the enemy. When he had finally absorbed that fact, he had decided that being of blood to this boy was better than being related to Derek, whom after that little display, he would have rather committed suicide.

"Why… why did you…" the rumble from pilot 02 cut into the dying mans' thoughts.

"Why did I save them?" his voice was surprisingly coherent, and he was surprised that he wasn't dead yet. The massive tiger merely nodded its' head. "I don't even really know why… I guess I realized that what was happening was wrong, and that you were blood. I couldn't just walk away from my kid brother, and let him watch the people he cares about die." He shrugged, not all that surprised that his body felt cold and numb. "Besides. He would have gone after that blonde cutie and the emerald eyed Adonis." The chuckle that escaped his lips was followed by a trail of blood running from his mouth while Trowa and Quatre had the decency to look embarrassed and flattered at the same time.

"Daniel… that's your name, right?" Daniel merely nodded at Duo's question. "…" The violet-eyed tiger looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped and said something else instead. "Thank you… I'm… I'm glad I met you… brother." Daniel smiled and nodded, but the moment was broken when Alsin decided that his presence needed to be reinforced.

"You killed him. You killed Derek…. My first… success…" the voice was numb, as if he couldn't quite accept the fact that Derek was indeed dead. But he continued, his voice completely void of all emotion. " I suppose that I shouldn't be that surprised… after all 02. I designed you to be able to defeat him. Still though…" Alsin's sigh echoed throughout the room.

"You bastard. I can't believe that I actually trusted you!" Daniel was furious with both himself and Alsin. "I can't believe that I actually thought that I could look up to you!" he glared at where he knew the camera to be from watching the monitor in Alsin's lab. The glare promised death and pain, but Alsin took no heed.

"Yes well, it would seem that I also made a mistake." Duo seemed to sense what was coming next, and when Alsin next spoke, roared as loudly as he could, making it impossible for anyone to hear the words that the scientist had uttered. Alsin was not impressed. "Well that wasn't very nice."

"I just couldn't stand the thought of listening to your voice for one more moment."

"Ah well… anyway… Daniel, have you not questioned as to why you're not dead yet?" his laughter echoed over the speakers as he looked at the soldiers expression. "It's because I injected you with a special formula when you first came under my command. You're death will be rather slow and painful, but I can make it all better." His voice dropped to an inviting purr. "Simply kill the pilots with the gun you still carry, and I won't detonate the nano-bombs that are placed strategically about your body so that when I flip the switch, you'll be blown to pieces. Literally." While Alsin had been speaking, Heero had quickly made his way over to the darkened area where Derek had first emerged from, completely avoiding the scientist's notice.

There, on the far left door, that had the hinges stupidly placed on the inside. It would be a simple task to heave the door from place while Alsin was distracted, to make an efficient escape route.

"No."

Daniel's outright refusal stopped Alsin cold in his offer.

"I'm sorry, but I don' think that I heard you right. Did you just say… NO?"

"Yes sir. I did." Alsin was mystified and furious at the same time.

"You'd be doing Oz a great favor by disposing of them for us. Your name would go down in history as the one who defeated the Gundam Pilots." Daniel cut him off.

"No. I'd be the one remembered as a murderer who killed his own brother just to become a hero." While Daniel spoke with Alsin, Heero had successfully removed the door. But Daniel continued, nodding briefly to Duo and the others to leave. Alsin never noticed the exchange, nor did he notice the pilots save for Duo edging towards the door. Daniel pulled out his gun. "They're leaving now, so you can go to hell." He put the muzzle to his temple, angled it so that there would be no chance of his survival, and pulled the trigger.

The bang resounded in the chamber, signaling the end of Daniel Emile's life.

"The fool…" Duo merely shook his before speaking.

"Like Daniel said. We're leaving now, so bye."

"You'll never make it out." Duo heard the brief rustling of objects being moved, and realized what Alsin was going to do.

"If you say so." With those last words, he bolted. He had barely made it through the door to the others, when an explosion of blood painted the wall opposite the doorway. Duo didn't let them look back as he nudged them down the hallway, Alsin's vile laughter rumbling behind them.

01020304050102030405010203040501020304050102030405

The scientist observed the room through the monitor, merely assuming that the Gundam pilots had moved out of view of the camera, into Derek's cell. He felt a sick satisfaction at the sight of Daniel's imploded body sprayed about the room, with almost nothing recognizably human in sight.

He felt pity that he'd had to blow Daniel up, but the boy had left him no choice. He would have loved to experiment on the ex-Oz soldier because of his genetics, but he had a feeling that Daniel would have committed suicide before Alsin had felt sufficiently satisfied with his work. He shrugged, believing that he had the Gundam Pilots left to conduct his research upon.

As he turned to close the DNA program and bring up his research files, the door to the left, which was out of his line of sight, opened.

"Can't you see I'm busy you idiot? What do you want?"

"Your death."

Those two simple words turned his blood to ice, as the cold muzzle of a gun was pressed to the back of his head. He had no time to scream, as he was too busy trying to figure out who said the last words he ever heard.

"Pay back's a bitch."

02020202020202020202020202020202020202020202

Five sets of eyes watched as the blaze that had once been the Oz base, burned into the night sky, the smoke wrapping around the crescent moon.

After pulling the trigger on Alsin, Heero had initiated the bases' self destruct mechanism and had turned off the alarm that would have alerted the rest of the Oz personnel. It was just lucky that Alsin's lab had been on the ground floor and had a large window that led into the woods. Duo had yet to change back into his original form. It was Quatre who broke the silence that had ensnared the five boys.

"Let's… let's just get to a safe house that Oz hasn't discovered yet." There were nods of agreement to the blonde's statement. "Duo?" Quatre's response was a low rumble. "I… I'm sorry about your brother…"

"Don't be." They were all shocked about the pure bluntness and complete lack of passion that was what Duo's tone consisted of.

"But he die-" Duo turned to look the Arabic boy straight in the eyes, cutting him off mid-word.

"He wasn't my brother, so don't worry about it. Don't feel bad because my 'brother' died, because he wasn't. Feel sorry that an idiot finally realized that what Oz is doing is wrong, and died because his beliefs changed. Feel sorry that he wasn't able to completely turn his life around." He turned his eyes back to look at the base.

"But you called him brother!"

"I called him brother because he was dying. Not because we're related, but because he needed something to believe in. Because the truth would have killed him before he actually died." He trailed off, still staring at the inferno. "I already know that I have no living blood relatives, because ol' Pestilence has access to every single DNA file of everyone on the planet and on the colonies. He checked to make sure I didn't have any family left alive, because he needed to be sure that something like this wouldn't happen, except with another outcome."

"That's why your reaction was as it was." All Heero received was a nod, but it was clear that the conversation was closed. But Quatre pressed one more question upon Duo.

"Then who was his brother?"

"Derek." Heero answered the question for the American, and they took the conversation no further, now understanding what Duo had meant when he said that the truth would have killed him before he died. They also understood why Duo had roared when Alsin had been speaking to Daniel. No further explanation was needed.

"Well, let us get to a safe house. Duo needs to have his injuries looked after." At Wufei's words, all four turned to look at the black tiger who, in turn, shifted nervously at the scrutiny that they fixated upon him. Wufei and Heero closed in on him, worry etched clearly on their faces, while Quatre and Trowa stood back, knowing not to interfere.

"Will these stay once you transform back?" Wufei's fingers gently probed the deep gash in Duo's flank from Derek's ax.

"I don't exactly know. I think that I've only transformed about three times total. But I'd probably have to say no." Heero examined the right shoulder, the one that Derek had gotten with the chainsaw, for any other problems other than the deepness of the actual wound. He could find no breaks in the bone, but he didn't get very far before Quatre piped up.

"Well, at least the bleeding's stopped, right?" Heero nodded lightly, but still looked worriedly at the severity of the wounds. "We should probably get to a safe house… but before that, we should determine whether or not those wounds will disappear when Duo changes back." Before the American turned tiger could protest, Trowa spoke up.

"At least if you're in human form if you end up passing out, we'll be able to carry you." he fixed Duo with a stare. "I can just imagine the pain you're in right now, and I can honestly say that I have no clue as to how you're still conscious." Duo sighed reluctantly, Heero and Wufei reluctantly moving away from him so that he could transform. The longing to stay as close to him as possible was threatening to tear the two apart, but they knew that they had to be a safe distance away as they had yet to see how he actually transformed back.

"All right then… I'll give it a go…"

* * *

L: Well... I'd like to know what you think! Cookies for reviewers, and cake for those who can correctly guess who said to Alsin:

"Pay back's a bitch."

V/S: ...-.-


	7. Chapter 7

L: Oh man, I am SOOOO SORRY that I took so long to update... just be thankful that this chapter is NOT the end of the story, because originally it was going to be...

S:We managed to convince her to continue otherwise. Even though it would have meant a sequel.

V: As it stands, we're not sure how much longer this is going to be, nor do we know if there will be a sequel. We'll just have to wait and see...

L: - special thanks to any and all who have stayed with me thus far, I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to update! -shoves Sain- Do the disclaimer.

S: ... go look up disclaimer in the dictionary. That'll tell you she doesn't own anything.

V: Now they don't have to. They didn't have to anyway. I'm pretty sure you've already made them do that.

S:... Just read the chapter...

* * *

_Previously..._

"All right then… I'll give it a go…"

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Duo waited a moment for the others to back up before he concentrated on changing back to him human form. With pale skin and rich brown hair firmly in his minds eye, the American felt the first pangs of agony slink through his body and a low hiss escaped from him.

He barely noticed his fur lightening from black to his natural colour, as his bones had begun to shrink and with that came an excruciating pain that few wounds could possibly be on par with. His eyes narrowed through the pain, but refused to give into the temptation of roaring as a release to the pain. The last thing they needed right at that moment was any Oz discovering that they had escaped, as they were hardly in any shape to fight them. They were only in possession of three guns; they'd only run into three soldiers on the way to Alsin's room.

Duo was almost completely human shaped now, save for the feline ears still atop his head, and the long whip chord tail lashing from the pain behind him. The only fur remained upon those two parts. But all of the pilots could tell that something was wrong; the indigo-eyed pilot was breathing harshly and almost erratically. That was when they realized that the shoulder wound had merely shrunk slightly, but was now a very real threat as it had started to bleed again. Slowly, Wufei and Heero approached, worried about the one they loved but concerned that he might not be able to recognize them right at that moment in time.

"Duo, can hear me?" the Chinese Pilot sank cautiously to his knees, so that he was closer to Duo who had succumbed to the pain and was on his hands and knees, forehead touching the ground while he struggled to breath properly. The groan that came from him was a reluctant affirmative. "Duo, why do you still have the ears and tail…?" the American struggled to a slightly upright position so that he could look at the other, sweat staining his face and pain making his eyes bright.

"Can't… Not enough… energy…" they were they only words he managed to pant out before his eyes widened in horror and forced himself into a leap that knocked both Heero and Wufei to the ground at the same time as a dark figure lunged from the darkened trees.

Blood spurted from a fresh wound on Duo's back, and a deep rumbling voice emanated from the shadowy figure that had attempted to end the two Asian pilots lives.

"Will kill. Orders direct, let me kill, Knling…" but the American did not move and his only reply was harsh breathing and a choked back whimper. Heero and Wufei quickly cradled the agony wracked Duo protectively to their bodies. "Kinling, move so can kill humans. Not want to kill Kinling, too few of us." Quatre and Trowa moved closer to the others, the two other guns pointed directly at the creature, aiming for its head just as Heero was now doing.

"Kinling… ugh… why does…everyone think… that I'm related… to them… today." The breathy tight voice that emanated from Duo while his head was turned in towards Heero's chest, sounded annoyed.

"Kinling is related because of genetic change. Kinling is one of thirty, youngest of us all." The creature now opened large eyes, revealing them to be a golden yellow, and it stepped into the moonlight.

From the large feline crested head, the broad shouldered reptilian like torso, and the wolf like tail, the creature was a magnificent sight that was covered in rich red fur. Duo felt something in him pull, and he remembered that he had referred to Heero and Wufei as his back at the base, and suddenly, he knew why. Animal instinct had him claiming them as his mates even though they were not, and animal instinct had this creature before him calling him Kinling. Which wasn't even a proper word. It seemed only the basics would make sense to the chimera before him, for it could be nothing more than a chimera.

" Now move, Kinling so that I may kill the humans." Duo managed to snarl and drew the two Asians closer, turning furious indigo eyes upon his 'brethren'.

"No. They are… Mine. You cannot… kill them…" five sets of eyes looked surprised at the incapacitated pilot. Duo had spoken without really thinking, and had basically stated his feelings out loud. Golden eyes blinked, and Duo's vision started to go blurry.

"They are… Kinling's desired mates?" Duo could merely nod. The chimera looked curiously at Quatre and Trowa, and spoke once more. " And those two?" Heero and Wufei could scarcely believe this was happening.

"Brothers…" was all Duo managed to pant out, his vision was now almost completely gone and he was incredibly dizzy.

"… Very well… will say only came across Kinling. Others were not there, you refused to come back and we exchanged glancing blows. You escaped." The creature nodded in agreement at its own words, before turning to walk away.

"Wait…" the chimera stopped, but did not turn. "Thank you…" Duo could no longer see anything and he was having problems staying conscious. "You aren't one of Alsin's… are you…?"

"No. Alsin was an idiot. There were two other scientists. I have a feeling we will meet again, Kinling." Golden eyes turned towards them. " You may call me Lukan… the next time we meet, I hope will be pleasant and you will not be injured." With those last words, the chimera, Lukan, bounded away into the dark that would cover the five pilots escape.

"Duo… did you mean…" Wufei never got to finish because Duo suddenly clutched Heero with one hand and the Chinese pilot with the other, whimpered out a strangled 'Mine', before going completely limp.

Worried cries fell upon deaf ears and died within the trees before they could reach any others ears.

010205010205010205010205010205010205010205010205

The closest safe house was just over five miles away and, with Duo in the condition he was in, they would have to travel slowly and concealed. Luckily the entire route was through forest and they would be able to completely avoid any other humans. It also would have been hard to explain why Duo had feline ears and a tail, as he had passed out before he could fully complete the transformation. Wufei absently stroked one of the soft velvety ears while he cradled the American to his chest, Quatre hovering nearby.

"We really shouldn't be staying in one place for too long, but we can't put too much stress on Duo…" the blonde was pacing, trying to come up with a strategy that would enable them to cover as much distance without aggravating the still unconscious pilots wounds. Wufei turned onyx eyes towards the Arab and raised an eyebrow.

"Winner, carving a trail about five feet long into the ground will not help us reach the safe house any faster, you do realize that." He spoke bluntly, still stroking the sensitive ear. Before he could continue though, a low rumbling emanated from Duo and he instinctively brought his hand back before he realized that Duo was purring. Blinking, he looked curiously at the blonde he was looking wide-eyed at the still unconscious form of his friend. "Winner, are large cats able to purr?"

"They shouldn't, not a tiger at least…" the sudden appearance of Trowa right behind the Chinese pilot, has both Wufei and Quatre jumping, the gun that had been left with them pointed squarely at the tallest pilots' chest. Trowa merely looked at Quatre, who twitched slightly before lowering the weapon. The green-eyed pilot frowned and walked over to the blonde, gently hugging him. Quatre smiled in thanks and Trowa spoke once again. "The larger felines don't have the proper vocal chords to purr because there's too much cartilage surrounding the throat area. Of course it's that cartilage that allows them to roar so loudly… but this could be a side effect of the mutation of his genes seeing as he wasn't even supposed to be able to talk while in the form of a tiger." The two conscious pilots present looked at him oddly.

"I don't think that I've ever heard you talk that much." Trowa merely shrugged. Duo's purring by then had abated, and curiously, Wufei started rubbing the soft ears once more. The purring started again almost immediately. He smiled softly, which did not go unnoticed but the other two. He looked back up at the others. "So, did you find anyplace that would be safe for the time being?" Trowa merely shook his head, but Heero came out of the woods just to the right of them.

"There are a series of caves just ahead. They're stocked full of medical supplies as well as food." He looked at the four before him. "They're not Oz…" he seemed almost hesitant to say what they were. They silently urged him on. "They're from before I became a Gundam pilot… But they're perfectly secure, that much is still the same." The pilots that were awake stood up, Heero going over to Wufei to lift Duo from the embrace that the other had previously held him in, the American still purring.

Quietly they made their way towards the system of caves that would offer them shelter for the time being, the low rumbling of Duo's purr a comforting sound surrounding them.

030403040304030403040304030403040304030403040304

Deeply secured within the cave system that was furnished like a house on the inside, the four conscious pilots could finally relax, Duo curled up within Heero's arms, and Wufei by the longhaired pilots head, inattentively playing with the now messy braid. All wounds had been attended to and all had been fed, save for Duo who had yet to wake up. All attention was currently fixed upon the well being of the smallest.

"Do you think that he'll sleep for two weeks like he did when we got him out of the first base?" Quatre was huddled next to Trowa, looking attentively at the American. Heero glanced down at the boy cradled in his arms who had a death grip on his shirt, making it impossible to actually put the boy in a proper bed. Not that Heero was complaining all that much really. He had longed to hold the boy like this for quite some time, and was not about to let the opportunity pass him by.

"It's a possibility… not one that I think any of us are looking forward too." Wufei spoke, still fiddling with the rich brown locks, but looking concernedly at the boy. He almost whispered the next part, but Trowa and Quatre heard clearly. "Did he really mean that though…" knowing what the pilot was mumbling about, the two said that they were going to bed, and should they require any assistance they would return immediately. The two Asian pilots merely nodded, quite absorbed in the task of looking at the American.

020202020202020202020202020202020202020202020202

Things slowly came into focus, just before Duo thought of opening his eyes. The area, though it felt unfamiliar, had a sense of safe to it, but he had yet to open his eyes. He was comfortably warm, and wasn't quite sure yet as to whether or not he would allow himself to wake up. After he heard the voices, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to; especially after the conversation he'd had with the chimera, Lukan came back to him.

"Heero, do you think he meant it when he said yes to that creatures question? And how he called us His?" that was definitely Wufei, and the tone; wistfully Duo imagined it was, hopeful.

"I… I don't know Wufei. He seemed to ignore any of the hints we dropped him… and he was the one who got us together in the first place" Duo felt the warmth beneath him shift. So his pillow was Heero, he thought idly. He kept his breathing slow and controlled so that the other two would not realize that he was already awake.

"That… I suppose that is true… he could have just said those things in the hope that the creature would leave us alone…" He felt something beside him shift, and heat came closer, a smoothly calloused hand gently caressed his cheek and Duo could have wept with joy. "I just hope he meant what he said…" the small sound of confirmation from Heero made Duo realize that the two actually wanted him in their relationship. Almost reluctantly, he opened his eyes to look almost directly into a pair of onyx and a pair of cobalt. Twin sharp gasps escaped from the two Asians.

010501050105010501050105010501050105010501050105

When Duo finally opened his eyes, Wufei and Heero had both been staring wistfully upon the still face of the American, and had been startled when they were suddenly staring directly into indigo eyes with slitted pupils. They could do nothing to escape the gasps of surprise that fell from their lips.

But nothing could have made them more startled or happy than the single word that Duo uttered that was obviously directed at them.

"Mine…"

* * *

L: Well, I hope you enjoyed what was put down! That thing about large cats is actually true. No I didn't research it for this sole purpose, and no I can't remember why.

And because I took so long... -throws candy and cookies at the readers- All hatefull words will accepted without comment because Leikaru currently deserves it.

S/V: She's talking in third person again... ummm... Just review, ok? let her keep her sanity just a little longer.

L: What's sanity? I don't think I ever had it... maybe I can buy some...


End file.
